Saint Louis Dentist Lists Every Day Things That Can Damage Your Smile

Sometimes dental patients suffer dental damage due to serious accidents or physical trauma. More often, however, dental damage occurs over time, because many everyday habits and substances can weaken your teeth.

In this blog our Saint Louis dentists will be reviewing some key, insidious, causes of dental damage and decay.

1. Sticky substances

If you regularly snack on sticky foods (especially those with high sugar contents) you may be at increased risk of developing cavities. When sticky foods get stuck on your smile, oral bacteria are able to thrive, proliferate, and infiltrate your healthy tissues.

2. Ice and hard candies

Ice and hard candies can be damaging if you chomp on them, rather than letting dissolve over time. When you chew hard foods and ice, you can cause actually micro-cracks in your dental enamel. These cracks intensify over time, and leave your susceptible to cavities.

3. Acidic drinks and fruits

You may have already heard about acid erosion: acidic substances lead to dental enamel demineralization. As your enamel becomes demineralized, your teeth may become more dark or stained, easily infected, and prone to damage.

4. Bruxism

Chronic dental grinding and clenching will thin and weaken your dental enamel. If you find yourself suffering from these signs of bruxism, it is a good idea to reach out to your dentist to find potential solutions. We can help you protect and safeguard our natural dental enamel.

Working with a supportive dental team, you can avoid many of the most common threats to your oral health. Our Saint Louis dentists are here to answer any questions that you may have, and to help you learn how to protect your smile in the best ways possible. Please feel free to call our office if you would like to schedule a consultation or a thorough dental cleaning!

Legal Notice: Our success is built on long term relationships with our patients through genuine caring and unrivaled excellence in value, comfort, service and the relentless quest of improvement. However, nothing stated herein should be construed as a claim of secret, superior or exclusive techniques, ability or equipment. All are well documented in the literature and training is widely available to any dentist who cares to pursue these goals. Our doctors are General Dentists. Cosmetic, Implant and Sedation Dentistry and Dental Sleep Medicine are non-specialty interest areas not recognized by the ADA that require no specific educational training to advertise these services. Dr. Daniel Bialecki, Dr. Jillian Bruch, and Dr. Timothy Grayem currently provide sedation services in our practice.